The Second Vatican Council: The Early Christian Church

The Pope is the head of the Church: he represents the ultimate religious authority. However, as a Bishop of Rome, the Pope is also in command of certain secular affairs, including some military aspects. Certainly, the Pope is a link between the earthly and the divine realms. Problems arise when the imperfect world the Pope physically lives in interferes with his heavenly objectives. Taking Pope Gregory I as an example, I am going to look at his letters to analyze how he reconciled his political and spiritual goals, whether he valued one category over the other, and how he justified it.

Nor should they ever be considered the official church superior. No laity member should ever strive for power and control. Laity that exhibit this type of behavior only makes matters worse, and spread discord throughout the church. They typically influence to generate opposition against the pastor to force us out. What is tragic is other layperson in the church allow this to go on. Unfortunately, they are aware that pastors come and go, but this church superior stays forever. Therefore, I must enlist the cooperation of other church board/council members when it is necessary to call a church laity to accountability to establish harmony. Without harmony, I cannot faithfully serve God or mission to the world. When this happens, the body of Christ works against itself. Every pastor and laity of the church must be determined to protect and preserve the harmony of the church of the living God. Nothing is more important than this to the great ministry of God's church. Jesus’ offered leadership with integrity. He confronted error and proclaimed truth in love with the authority of the divine. Through His power, brokenness was transformed to wholeness. God has given pastors today the privilege of using His power to improve the world. We see brokenness, and disharmony all around us. We as pastors should be aware of the power in our hands which is useful to restore and renew those things that have become ruined. In this way, power

The roles of people in the church were redefined, as the Pope established himself clearly as a man of action, and not unreachable ‘God like’ figure. He did not submit to his power and instead worked together and worked for the people to make worshipping Christ more meaningful. The sacraments were developed to involve the congregation and improve the expression of Christian beliefs as the church was modernized and clericalism was removed.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Pope was the highest level bishop in the West, giving symbolic leadership to Christians. There was a certain theological confidence about Popes, with many believing they never made mistakes regarding theological issues. Eventually, Popes regarded themselves as leaders that were in charge of spiritual and political issues, mainly through the Doctrine of Two Swords. With this idea originally from Pope Gregory I, other Popes furthered their boundaries of leadership outside of spiritual matters. They regarded themselves as Vicars of God, essentially meaning they were God’s “lieutenant” or a representative of God. The use of the word “lieutenant” played well into how Popes viewed themselves, for they were becoming more and more prominent military leaders.

In the Medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church played a great role in the development of England and had much more power than the Church of today does. In Medieval England, the Roman Catholic Church dominated everyday life and controlled everyone whether it is knights, peasants or kings. The Church was one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval England and played a large role in education and religion. The Church's power was so great that they could order and control knights and sends them to battle whenever they wished to. The Church also had the power to influence the decision of Kings and could stop or pass laws which benefited them in the long run, adding to this, the Church had most of the wealth in Europe as the

In the United States, there has often been debate over whether the U.S. Constitution is a “living constitution.” A “living constitution” is the idea that the interpretation of constitutional phrases should take into account the contemporaneous society. In other words, practices and traditions of the government have the ability to change and transform over time in accordance with the changes in society. Similarly, there has often been debate in the religious community as to whether the practices and traditions of the church have the ability to change and transform in order to better suit the needs of its constituents. Two Popes in the Roman Catholic church, Pope Francis and Pope Pius IX, have published documents with opposing viewpoints about the church’s ability to change and transform over time. The aforementioned documents also highlight other issues commonly debated within the church. Ultimately, Pope Francis favors a more progressive church, that is opento change, while Pope Pius IX favors a church with more rigid guidelines that follow traditional practices.

Until Vatican II the Church was split into may different factions and each was set in its own belief that they were the ‘one’ true church. After the council however, compromises and cooperation began to develop between the many denominations toward building the Christian community as a whole. Official documents concerning the liturgy and social communication were adopted during this session. The third session began on September 14, 1964 and ended on November 21, 1964 (Rynne 291). A select few religious and lay women were invited to this third session in order to incorporate different sections of the church. Ecumenism, Eastern Rite churches, and the constitution of the Church, missions, and ministries of priests were such topics discusses during this period. The fourth and last, period began on September 14, 1965 and ended on December 8, 1965 (Rynne 450). Issues considered during this period included education, laity (distinguished people not of the clergy), bishops, and religious orders. At the close of the council, the pope declared a jubilee, and asked Catholics to read and study the constitutions and decrees of the council and apply them to their spiritual lives.

As time constantly presses forward and the earth continues to revolve, the world will never stop progressing and adapting to better suit the needs of mankind. The evolution of religion has greatly enhanced the quality of life for humanity by providing individuals with a strong belief system that is now the foundation of many peoples’ core values. One universal religion that has undergone extensive amounts of reform is Christianity. In particular, the Catholic church is well-known for the development of their famous ecumenical council meetings that help determine the future of the church. Numerous Councils have been conducted throughout the course of history, but none more significant than the most recent, the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II. The Catholic church was operating as if it was still the medieval period and desperately needed to be modernized. As a result, every Roman Catholic Church official was gathered to meet and devise a plan for how to introduce the church to the modern world. Consequently, the following will reveal the Second Vatican Council and the ramifications of the agenda, history and theology evolution, significant texts, and new developments.

Often held as a rite of passage and entrance into the Christian church, baptism is much more than just symbolic ritual. Baptism was commanded by Jesus Christ in the Great Commission recounted in the book of Matthew. Even though we are simplistically called to be obedient by being baptized the Christian church has long debated the aspects of this ordinance. Denominations are divided on the basic meaning, types and modes of baptism even two thousand years after the founding of the Christian church. Just as the other ordinance, the Lord’s Supper, congregations find themselves at odd with tradition, biblical interpretation and even individual understanding. However, the simple message of this awe inspiring act can be explained out of the

) F-1.0201 presents the authority of Christ in PC(USA). “God has put all things under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and has made Christ Head of the Church, which is his body. The Church’s life and mission are a joyful participation in Christ’s ongoing life and work” (F-1.0201). Furthermore, “Christ gives to the Church its faith and life, its unity and mission, its order and discipline” (F-1.0203). Therefore, church should be guidance by the Word and the Holy Spirit. Since God is the only one who has the authority of the church, constitution in PC(USA) does not “wish to see any religious constitution aided by the civil power” because of “protection, security, equality and common to all others” (F-3.0101-b). PC(USA) is only governed with justice

The Second Vatican Council contributed many changes to the Catholic Church in order to freshen and modernise their thinking and practices. One notable change being the contribution of the lay people in the celebration of the mass. All baptised Catholics have a purpose to fulfil therefore have the authority to contribute through responses, hymns and prayers. Each church formed lay ministers to assist in the clergy and further the involvement of the congregation. Another significant change was the removal of the Latin language in the mass. So that people could understand and interpret the teachings of the scriptures the mass was said in vernacular languages which were coherent to society and people could now act out Jesus’ teachings in their

By The Middle Ages, one understands a relatively long historical period extending from the end of the Roman Empire to the 1500's. The conquest of The Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, and synthesis of Germanic and Roman ways of life formed the civilization which we call medieval (medieval-from Latin words; medium (middle) and aevum (age)). Medieval civilization was greatly influenced by the Muslims in Spain and The Middle East, and by Byzantine Empire and Christians in Southeast Europe.

“In the thirteenth century, the Catholic Church reached the height of its political, intellectual, and secular power (322). ” The Pope Innocent III was very honest with his desire for power within

sessions of the Second Vatican Council. This term was intended to signify “in the spirit

The Papacy is the office of the Pope. The word pope comes from the Latin form of the word “Papa” which means father. The office of the Pope or rather the papacy is responsible for a wide variety of things. Specifically the Papacy’s main responsibility is the spiritual well being of the members of the Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church rose to power in the 6th century and lasted throughout the 9th century. There were several different circumstantial and also coincidental factors that contributed to the high regard of the church by the 6th century. The beginning was the church’s unsolicited popularity. This could be linked to its relationship with the early apostles. The Roman Church was the first in the empire